User blog:Llamao/Llamao's: A Short History of My Characters

A fox crept away slowly through the underbrush, the noises of the conflict ringing in his ears. His jaw now lay loosely hanging to the left of where it should have been. He held one paw to his jaw while the other dragged at the damp soil, pulling him along. Suddenly, sounds nearby made him halt.

A ferret, a very lean, skinny one, peered through the bushes. The fox stopped breathing, and he sighed in relief when the creature withdrew. Turning back, the ferret addressed another fox, this one of bigger build and size. "Lord, there is nothing in the area. He has escaped."

Lord Sliscaer Tromedlon, fox king of the Dreaded Lands, spat upon the ground and pulled out a dagger, malicious intent stamped on his features. Grabbing hold of the ferret's neck, he spoke slowly, gritting his teeth as every word fell out. "Find…the…fox, or it'll be yew I make an example of. Now go!" Throwing the ferret aside, Sliscaer glanced at the fox's hiding place for a moment before gathering up the rest of his horde.

Hours passed, and the fox did not move, barely breathing, wincing as his jaw wound became more painful to endure. At last, he stood up, ready to leave, ready to go anywhere but where he was.

---

Khulna lay in her dwelling, sweat pouring down the side of her face. Pain shot through her body, and she contorted and twitched on the ground as the fox staggered in, one paw clamped to his jaw. She looked up as he stumbled in and gasped. "Genghis, your jaw!" Then, shutting her eyes tightly, she let out another gasp as a bolt of pain travelled down her back. The fox, Genghis, solemnly eyed her.

Struggling to get every word out, his speech became slurred and impaired. "Khulna, we must leave here. Now. It is no place to live if we want to bring up and protect our children."

His mate shuddered uncontrollably and blinked multiple times in quick succession. "Have ye lost yer mind, Genghis?" After pausing, she continued. "Your … child is being born right now! Can ye at least … wait 'till I've borne ye one?"

Genghis's eyes hardened, and he spoke quietly but urgently. "If ye care about the welfare o' yersel' an' yer child, come out o' here!" Like shards of steel now, he glanced about the outside of his dwelling, hearing noises somewhere off into the distance. "Vermin are out tae get us, Khulna. Come!" But turning back, he gasped. In a pool of blood lay his child, the red orange fur speckled maroon, its snout twitching, exploring its environment. Next to the child, Khulna lay, her eyes glazing over. Looking one last time at her child, she whispered,

"Hulagu." Smiling, her dead body fell back along the back of the rock wall, her head coming to a rest on a soft blanket.

Genghis fell onto his knees as he approached his dead mate, his eyes not giving away any emotion, his lips perked tightly. Picking up his child, a male, he quietly walked out of his dwelling. Placing the pup in a hollowed out log, he pushed it out on the stream, watching as it disappeared around the corner, the whelps of his son fading away as the sun made its way below the horizon, the last light of the day disappearing as night took over.

Wavering on foot, he found his way back to his den, where the pool of blood now stretched to the entrance. Gingerly walking over it, he made his way to the dead body of Khulna, who had died bravely giving birth to her only child. Taking the blanket, he covered her body, glancing one last time into the den as he covered the entrance with boulders and brush weed.

Turning around, he massaged his jaw and quickly limped off into the surrounding woodlands, never to come back.

---

"Oh, well Bonny were a warrier,

Hey ya hoo!

<p style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri">A warrier an' a tarrier,

<p style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri">Hey ya hoo!

<p style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri">'E loved a pretty young beasty, but she never knew 'im

<p style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri">'cos 'e fergot to give 'is message to the courier!

<p style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri">Hey ya - "

<p style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri">"Hold up, fellers! I see a log roundin' yon river bend. Bubba, go see wots in it." A young watervole, Bubba, nodded his head and stopped the log as it was passing through the slow moving stream. Gasping, he spun around, almost letting the log go again.

<p style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri">"Da, 'tis a fox cub, no more'n a day old!" An ancient watervole hobbled up.

<p style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri">"What's that ye say, Bubba? A flow'rin' shrub?" Pushing the elder aside, a middle-aged vole looked inside the hollowed out log.

<p style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri">"Hmm, yer right, Bubba. 'Tis but a pup. Jus' wait'll I get me hands on the foxes what abandoned this poor pup, aye, I'll teach 'em a lesson they won't ferget in a hurry!" Arvic Rowan, leader of the South Side Water Voles, stood, a tall moralistic figure, ever ready to fight against the imbalance of evil in the world. Raising a tall greenwood quarterstaff high over his head, he beckoned all his subjects to him. "My son, Bubba, 'e's found a 'lil pup o' a fox. Now, I know foxes usually are vermin, but in our care, this young pup'll grow into a goodbeast, I tell ye. We kin make a difference. Now, who's with me?"

<p style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri">A resounding cheer echoed off the trees and woodland as a large "Aye!" greeted Arvic's speech. Smiling, the large water vole stepped down and headed to a large dining area out in the open. "Now, I don't know about all you starvin' beasts, but ahm ready fer a spot o' cookin' right now!"

<p style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri">Eight seasons later…

<p style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri">An arrow whizzed through the air, picking up speed as shafts of wind carried it through the air. Thunk! It landed straight in the center of a set up target, sending tiny splinters of wood everywhere. Arvic grinned as he handed his bow to Hulagu. "Now you try it. Lessee where all yer trainin' 'as got ye." Crossing his arms, Arvic watched Hulagu's form as the young fox strung an arrow to the small bow.

<p style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri">Letting the arrow go, Hulagu watched as the shaft completely missed the target, thudding into a tree beyond the target. Stamping his foot down, the stubborn fox yelled out in frustration. "I'll never get it! Arvic, I hate this! Why do I always havta train?" The vole took the bow from the youngster and put a paw on Hulagu's shoulder.

<p style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri">"Huh, you ain't done real trainin' yet, Verm. Not 'till yew gone through Bubba's swords class you ain't."

<p style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri">"Why must you keep calling me Verm? My name isn't Vermilion!"

<p style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri">"Well, 'tis wot we named ye, so shut yer gob an' go take a few sips from yer canteen." The young fox obediently stalked off with his head down, pouting miserably. Arvic shook his head and set his bow down, walking over to the tree to take the arrow out.

<p style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri">Hulagu turned back once, seeing the bow lying on the ground, along with a stack of arrows. Not bothering to get some water to quench his thirst, a determined look came across his face.

<p style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri">Arvic chuckled to himself as he pulled the arrow out of the tree. "Hahaar, young 'uns never learn." No beast was expecting what happened next.

<p style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri">Hulagu let the shaft fly as Arvic appeared from behind the target, about to pull his own arrow out. Bubba, who had come rushing to call both of them for lunch, gasped as the arrow found it's way into Arvic's heart, pinning the tribe leader to the center of the target. Hulagu had finally gotten a bulls eye, but not the way he wanted to. The horrified expression on Bubba's face soon turned into eternal rage as he charged Hulagu. "I knew it! You were never anythin' but a murderer!"

<p style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri">The fox, still only eight seasons old, took to his heels and raced off into the woodlands, picking up the quarterstaff of Arvic as he went. Only his speed saved him, as a whole tribe of water voles gave chase relentlessly for over two weeks.

<p style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri">---

<p style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri">The thick reddish orange fur of Genghis Jaw was ruffled in the wind as he espied a young fox with the same color fur as him fearfully racing off into the woodlands. Raising a brow, he continued to spy from his vantage point, pulling back as a group of voles passed by underneath, hot on the young fox's heels.

<p style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri">Now a wealthy mercenary, Genghis jumped down from the tree and dusted himself off. Rubbing his jaw, he grinned crookedly, not realizing who the young fox was. Flicking a golden coin up in the air, Genghis watched as a shaft of sunlight caught the metal, sending a flicker of bright sunlight off into the woodlands for a moment.

<p style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri">Uncorking a flask of grog, he took a few swigs and wiped the side of his mouth with a paw. Some of the liquid dribbled out the side of his limp jaw. As the sounds of the chase receded, he stopped, listening intently to his surroundings. He walked up to a rotted sycamore and paused, tapping his paw on the hard earth. Genghis's paw shot into the hollowed out sycamore trunk, pulling out a frightened squirrel.

<p style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri">He smiled. "My client will be pleased."